Icebreaker

For the love of merino wool!

Icebreaker is a global outdoor apparel manufacturer and retailer headquartered in New Zealand. Launched in 1994, the brand created a new clothing category – merino wool fiber active outdoor clothing. Today, it is a global brand synonymous with quality, style, high performance, sustainability, ethical manufacturing, and animal welfare. The brand is built on the stories behind where the raw materials come from. They have a great yarn to tell and want to tell it well.

27,000

Page views per year

55,000

Total number of assets

2,300

Active users per year

217,000

Downloads per year

Challenge

Icebreaker had grown to a point where managing the brand across local marketing teams in eight markets globally, distributors in over 30 countries, retail sales staff in 2000 stores, customer service people, and even external designers were becoming more challenging to control. Finding brand management software to communicate and distribute brand values, brand stories, and digital assets quickly and efficiently was vital to further building Icebreaker’s business.

Solution

One of the first Icebreaker garments was worn by the late Sir Peter Blake. He returned from the Southern Ocean claiming the fabric was “superior in every way to anything I had ever worn before” and revealing he’d worn his Icebreaker for 43 days and 43 nights without changing.

This and other anecdotes that bring the brand to life can now be found in ‘thestation.icebreaker.com,’ Icebreaker’s new online Brand Management Software tool from Brandworkz. Communicating the brand personality, vision, and meaning, ‘The Station’ is also where you can find all the marketing and brand tools you need anytime, anywhere. Brandworkz Digital Asset Management functionality means logos, photography, and videos, as well as sales training materials or marketing campaigns, can be accessed and used in any country. Even the latest in-store POS, new season photography, and Web-to-Publish toolkits to allow teams to customize artwork are available in their brand management software. Materials for PR agencies and the media can also be downloaded, saving vast amounts of time and resources, reducing the duplication of work, and providing a holistic brand management system.

Icebreaker brand management software is the central, go-to resource for brand management and Digital Asset Management, and the adoption rate for The Station by all users is 40% higher than expected. As expected, Marketing Managers locally and overseas are the most frequent users. Kent, an Icebreaker marketer in California, sums it up: “This is above and beyond expectations!! You totally hit the mark and have the exact right tool that we need.”

Retail teams globally make up 53% of users, accessing the latest in-store POS, new season photography, and Web-to-Publish toolkits directly without having to submit a brief for material to head office. With additional access to brand and product facts, the incredible benefits of Icebreaker’s outdoor products can be consistently communicated to consumers to increase customer trials, promote repeat purchases, and build a word-of-mouth network. Nick, an account manager in Australia, says, “This has transformed the way we deliver assets to our retailers.”

At the end of 2012, the company posted turnover figures of US$200m. With a marketing strategy that eschews traditional advertising in favor of word-of-mouth and PR, a powerful, consistent brand is absolutely crucial to building sales and the business.

It is estimated that savings from reduced ad hoc requests for the creation of marketing materials alone have saved $100,000 per year. Time to market for new collections has been reduced by 1 month, and the use of out-of-date imagery has virtually been eradicated since the implementation of Brandworkz Brand Management Software. Marketing and creative departments now create strategic, highly effective marketing toolkits for retailers, increasing sales.

Start Building Your Brand Management System Today!

Brandworkz Brand Management Software

Brand management software equips your marketers with the tools to ensure a consistent brand experience, optimize marketing operations, and enhance brand value.